I have something (possibly) revolutionary on my desk today: Foreo Espada, Blue Light Acne Treatment [With Laser Precision Targeting]. So, what are they trying to say? No more gels, creams and other well-known topical acne treatment products?
Product Overview
Foreo, a brand mostly known for their oral care and skin cleansing devices, have come up with a potential skincare "game-changer": Espada. The brand describes it as a "powerful new weapon in the fight against acne", which is a pretty bold statement if you ask me. Although it is technically designed for people, who suffer from acne - anyone, who gets an occasional hormonal breakout or blemish, can use it. In other words, unless you are a sparkly unicorn, you need one too.
Something truly captivating about Espada is: laser-focused blue LED light combined with T-sonic pulsations (which you might be familiar with, if you own any of the brand's Luna devices). This product is waterproof, can be charged (fantastic!) and comes in three colours (baby pink, magenta and dark blue).
Technology
Whether you suffer from acne or not, you might be familiar with "blue light treatment". More often than not, it is used by professional skincare specialists and dermatologists. Good news is: you can use it at home too.
Something fascinating about blue light is that it can penetrate your skin on a deeper level in a non-invasive, pain-free manner. Since acne causing bacteria is sensitive to it, blue light is able to calm down inflammation and eliminate the bacteria deep inside oil glands and, as a result, make them shrink in size too. After a few sessions, be it with your cosmetologist or in your own bathroom, skin will go back to normal in no time. What's even better, no need for any additional medicine. If you are on Accutane, you might want to discuss it with your doctor first; but in case you want to avoid oral medicaments altogether - this might be your light at the end of the tunnel.
If blue light is so good, why do we need a laser-focus and T-sonic pulsations?
Laser-focus is something Foreo have come up with to make it easier for you to indicate an existing blemish or acne. In this instance, red light will be your visual guide, almost as it is for sharpshooters and snipers, but let's not go there. You will see my demo later in this post. As for T-sonic pulsations, they supposedly drive blue light wavelenghts deeper into your skin, hence you get better results faster. And who doesn't want that?
My Story
Now, before I proceed and show you how to use this tool, I wanted to mention that I personally don't suffer from acne. What I do get, however, are these really painful "blind" pimples and little blemishes, which can pop up anywhere on my face (but mostly on my chin, nose and forehead). I have been to dermatologist before and he prescribed Zineryt; I would typically use it as a "spot treatment" and apply it twice a day for about a week or two. The bigger my blind pimple is, the longer it will take my skin to regain its normal state. For my smaller blemishes I would use something like organic tea tree oil or willow bark extract.
In recent months I have also amped up my cleansing game. Having dry skin, I never really cared about washing my face in the morning, because I wake up pretty "matte" anyway. After my consultation with one of the Institut Esthederm skincare specialists from France, I have realised the importance of "deep cleansing", so from now on I also use AHA peel serum (once a month) and deep pore cleanser (every two weeks). These are my "preventative" methods if you will; you can read more about these miraculous products here.
Demo & Use
Never in my entire life I hoped to get a bad breakout this much. Talk about taking one for the team, eh? Thankfully, throughout this period [that I have been testing Espada] I got a few (painful/not so painful) pimples here and there. For the sake of this review, I have also asked my mom (my relentless test subject) to try it with me, so that I could have more than one opinion.
#1 You should use Espada on freshly cleansed, cream/makeup-free face for ultimate results;
#2 Once it is switched on, use laser-focus to target your spot. Red light will help you indicate its precise location;
#3 Now that you have "found" your pimple, gently press Espada onto your skin. Blue light and pulsations will switch on automatically;
#4 Each session will last 30 seconds only, with pulsations going from medium to high speed;
#5 There is no need to switch your Espada on and off in-between 30 seconds sessions. The timer works automatically;
#6 Depending on how agressive your acne/breakout is, you can repeat the procedure up to 4 times on a single blemish or move onto another one;
#7 It is very easy to clean Espada, you can either use dry (clean) towel to wipe off any oily residue or actually wash it with soap in warm water (never alcohol-based cleansers). *The brand doesn't recommend this device to people, suffering from severe nodular/cystic acne*.
Results
To be very honest, I was quite skeptical about Espada at first, but now that I have used it so many times, I have to say that this blue LED light technology truly works for me. It is perfectly safe and FDA-approved; my skin is quite sensitive, but I have not experienced any redness or peeling. As a matter of fact, no scarring either, because I had zero extractions done and haven't applied any other topical medications while testing Espada.
While bigger blemishes do need a few days (and repeated blue light sessions) to heal, small ones disappear/decrease in size after a single use. 30 seconds, good night sleep and they're gone with first rays of the sun. Unlike any other spot treatments I have used in the past, this one doesn't feel aggressive on the skin; as a matter of fact I enjoy having to deal with no flaking, dry patches of skin where I kept on layering Zineryt per say. My mom had the same experience.
Verdict
I am happy with my Espada. I love just liberating it feels (no need to hunt for that next "best" gel or cream) and if you don't want to use any harsh chemicals or oral medication, this might be a solution. Although I can't speak on behalf of people suffering from severe acne, if you get adult breakouts/blind pimples/mild acne or anything in-between - I think this tool is quite helpful. Of course, depending on your skin's condition, you will either love it or find that it is a bit time-consuming (especially when larger skin areas are affected), but you can always charge Espada and (with proper care) device like this should last you ages.
With this guy, healing time is massively quicker and once you get used to it, you might become an addict. I oddly find myself staring in the mirror these days, hoping to find some bizarre blemish, so that I could see whether my Espada can slay it or not. To keep it short: Espada works and if you (or teen in your life) are troubled with inflammatory acne etc., give it a shot. It is also very light and portable, so will be great for traveling.
If you are based in the UAE, you can only find Espada at The Nail Spa salons across the country. Otherwise, Espada is available at most Sephora stores worldwide, as well as on Foreo website.
